Call of the Water (COMPLETE)

22. A PROMISE

For me, the easiest way to focus was to go outside. For that reason, the garden was my favorite place to think. There were no walls to surround me, only nature that was starting to slowly wake up.

It was late afternoon, still a bit chilly, but the signs of spring coming back were everywhere. Snowdrops were peeking out in the lawn that became greener with each passing day, and hazel trees were already decorated by countless yellow catkins.

I took a path leading further into the garden, towards the orchard. A bench under the cherry tree was so inviting that I simply had to sit down. This is a good place to think, I thought to myself as I leaned my back against the backrest. I closed my eyes and let the setting sun to spill its warmth over me. I intertwined my fingers behind my head and laughed. It was still an unusual feeling to have them intertwined. It was something I wasn't able to do just a couple of years earlier.

Felling completely relaxed and peaceful, my thoughts began to flow.

"If what Opal said is true, then it's more than a story," I was mumbling to myself, hoping that vocalizing my thoughts would help. "The Princess was real. But stories get distorted over time. Then again, that doesn't mean that the Princess didn't exist."

"Hm...hm..." someone was trying to get my attention. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness."

The voice was coming from above. I tilted my head, and there, high up in the treetop, I saw Mathias comfortably sitting on a branch while his back was leaned against the tree trunk.

"What are you doing up there?" I asked in a surprised voice. "Stalking me?"

"Sitting," he answered completely calm. "And no, I'm not stalking you. I was here way before you showed up. If anyone is a stalker, then it's you."

"I am not!" I protested. "I didn't come here to stalk you."

"No? Why did you come? To have a conversation with your invisible friend?" I could hear the jest in his voice.

"No, I did not come to have a conversation with my invisible friend!" I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him an annoyed look, although I doubted he saw it from where he was sitting. "I came here to think," I said.

"What do you need to think about?" he asked. That guy was way too nosey sometimes. Nevertheless, I saw an opportunity to give him a taste of his own medicine, so I answered him anyway.

"Well, right now I'm thinking: What the hell are you doing up there, in the tree? The cherry hasn't even blossomed yet, let alone produced any fruits! And now I'm thinking: Do werewolves even eat fruit or is their diet based entirely on meat? Which leads me to another question I need to think about: Do werewolves eat their meat cooked or do they prefer it raw?"

"Okay, okay, stop!" he interrupted me. "Sorry I asked!"

I bowed my head down so he wouldn't be able to see the smile on my face.

"Who's the Princess?" he changed the subject.

I looked up and saw that he shifted his position on the branch so that his legs were dangling and he was able to look at me.

It took a moment before I realized what he was talking about. "My legend," I answered. "I wrote about her in Professor Cyan's homework."

Looking up was causing me neck pain, so I lay down on the bench and I placed my arm under my head as a cushion. That way, I was able to look at Mathias directly.

"I made her cry," the words just spilled out. "She denied it, but every time I mentioned my story, her eyes filled with tears. I don't know why. Opal convinced me that the Princess was real. Ardea, on the other hand, thinks that legends cannot be trusted completely. As a result, I'm confused. No other legend made Professor Cyan cry, not even the ones written by the daemons and I thought they were very moving. Could it be that my story drove her to tears? She couldn't have heard it before, I'm the first Aquantien in the school."